From Resident Evil 6 to Requiem, how Capcom's golden era was born

Resident Evil is back in full force with Resident Evil Requiemthe ninth entry in the main storyline, which was surprisingly well received. But it hasn't been that long since something like that Resident Evil Requiem it would have been a considerable surprise, so the brand identity of the series was tarnished.

make no mistake Resident Evil never experienced a fully developed “dark age”, but it's safe to say that IP's prestige and cultural standing after the original Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil went through something of an identity crisis during this time, prompting longtime fans to scoff at the newer, action-oriented titles, or simply avoid them altogether. It really seemed like an excellent track record for a while, didn't it Resident Evil built in the late 1990s and washed away in the early 2000s, only for the franchise to make one of the most thrilling and decisive comebacks in gaming history.

Resident Evil 6 is the worst “real” Resident Evil game

I, along with many other fans, would not call 2012 the year Resident Evil 6 worst game in the franchise. Taken in isolation, it certainly has its merits: the combat is a satisfying development RE4Its action set-pieces are fun and its story, while not great, perfectly captures the camp charm the franchise is known for. But as a Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 6 not very good at all.

The biggest problem with RE6 is that it deviates from the basics of the genre Resident Evil helped create himself – there is no “survival horror” to be found in this title. Rather than pushing the boundaries and moving forward with innovation as previous posts have done, Resident Evil 6 fell victim to the most pedestrian sins of the 7th console generation. It lacked nuance, creativity and originality, transmitted RE formula into a basic, unfocused third-person shooter. This would force Capcom to go back to the drawing board Resident Evilbut not before pushing out two confusingly bad entries.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps are currently the worst games in the series

Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps they are often overlooked, and for good reason. Resident Evil 6 can be bad Resident Evil game, but these multiplayer experiments are bad games, period. Operation Raccoon City has serviceable shooting mechanics, though its team-based, cover shooter was derivative and tired even by 2012 standards. And with an even less compelling, less horror-focused narrative than RE6the game failed to attract a wide audience.

Then he came Umbrella Corps in 2016, marking a new low for the franchise. Unlike Operation Raccoon City, Umbrella Corps it couldn't even be successfully derived, with an appallingly boring single-player campaign and a shallow, pointless multiplayer mode; is perhaps the most poorly received Resident Evil game of all time. Fortunately, Capcom's redemption was just around the corner.

In 2017, Capcom released what would be the most important Resident Evil game since then Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was exactly what the franchise needed Resident Evil 6: it was bold, terrifying and innovative. Featuring a first-person perspective and a new protagonist in Ethan Winters, Resident Evil 7 It felt like a fresh start as well as a return to the tense, atmospheric survival horror game in the series with a greater balance of exploration, combat and puzzles.

But Capcom wasn't content to simply rest on its laurels after this RE7success a Resident Evil Village is proof of that. The game still features Ethan Winters and the FPS template, but with a radical shift to a Gothic European setting and a greater focus on action, Village he did it Resident Evil could still surprise RE7.

Resident Evil has emerged as a leader in the remake space

Between Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil VillageCapcom released Resident Evil 2 remake. Despite seeming odd from the start, it turned out to be an incredibly polished reimagining of the 1998 original and basically set the gold standard for what an ambitious, full-on video game remake should be.

Resident Evil 3Remake 's was a bit clunky for some, but Resident Evil 4 the remake quickly rectified this and is arguably one of the best third person shooters ever made. WITH RE4RCapcom has re-established the series' supremacy in the third-person action space, much like the original RE4 was instrumental in moving the third-person action forward in its day. It is essential to RE4R and its predecessors helped reintroduce older characters like Leon Kennedy, allowing the series to move beyond Ethan Winters' story and solidify the timeline.

Resident Evil Requiem brings it all together

All of which brings us to this Resident Evil Requiemwhich represents the most complete development of the franchise to date. Not only does the game literally combine the first-person, rat-in-a-cage survival horror of the Ethan Winters games with the intense combat of the remakes, but it also reprises several aspects of the pre-RE7 games, including Leon Kennedy and Raccoon City.

Over Resident Evil RequiemCapcom reconciled the series' two distinct modern gameplay formulas. More than RE7 and Village, Requiem hugs Resident Evil's campy identity while favoring clever horror set pieces. Resident Evil he got his rhythm back years ago and Requiem it feels like a victory lap. But more than that, it represents the series of travails and transformations the series had to go through to get to this point.